Oklahoma head coach Lincoln Riley is optimistic about the prospects of a 2020 football season but in no rush to make the next step forward. Riley addressed the media Thursday afternoon in a Zoom call to discuss the on-going effects of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic still sweeping the world.
Here are some of the highlights of the 30-minute call.
‘I definitely think we’ll play’
Start with some good news as Riley didn’t hesitate in believing there will be some sort of 2020 football season. What that looks like? When that happens? We haven’t reached that point yet.
The one thing Riley made abundantly clear is it would be completely asinine to jump into this too early. It’s not a competition to get everything open first. Safety and welfare are much more important.
“I definitely think we’ll play,” Riley said. “When we play, I just think everybody whether it’s our decision-makers, our coaches, our players, fans, I think everybody’s got to have a very open mind about this. We’re not the NFL. There are some huge, huge differences in us being able to put on a successful season versus a professional league. We’re not the NBA. We don’t just have 15 players. This is a totally different deal.
“I do believe if we do it right and if we’re patient enough on some key areas like when we bring our players back on campus… I mean, all this talk about these schools wanting to bring players back on June 1st is one of the most ridiculous things I’ve ever heard. And so we’ve got to be patient.
“We’ll get one good shot at it, to bring them back at the right time when we’re prepared and know as much about this as we possibly can.”
Everything remains on the table, it appears, as to how the season gets completed. Half in the fall, half in the spring? Possibility. Shortened schedule? On the table. Just conference games? Can’t be ruled out.
In a world full of structure like college football, it’s one of the toughest parts to be able to adjust to what’s going on.
And again, don’t rush it.
“In my opinion, we need to bring them in as late as we possibly can before we play a season,” Riley said. “Do you need four weeks? Do you need six weeks? Do you need eight weeks? Whatever that is, a lot of those are very feasible. I think six weeks is very doable. But I think if we bring our players even one day before we have to to try to start a season, I think it’s the wrong thing. We’re pushing hard for that right now.”
To think Riley and athletic director Joe Castiglione haven’t thought about one contingency plan after another would be false.
An example was this response from Riley about playing just conference games and how that could work.
“And then you'd have to decide, do you require everybody to play a certain number of games or do you just have the conferences do it like they did? And we ended up playing one more, there’d be some decisions to be made,” Riley said. “But there's some interesting points because inevitably, you hope it doesn't but at some point in the season if all of a sudden a team has a big breakout and can't play one week, is it a loss? Is it a forfeit? Do you have time to push it back? I mean, there's just a lot of questions right now.”
No update on suspensions
Moving toward on the field matters, Riley had no definitive update on the suspensions of running back Rhamondre Stevenson, wide receiver Trejan Bridges and defensive lineman Ronnie Perkins.
“No update,” Riley said. “I think that’s fair to say, that all of this has probably slowed this process down. It’s still being discussed. I don’t think it’s going to get left unattended to, but I do believe it’s fair to say that has slowed it down. There’s obviously other priorities that are a lot higher right now for the people that make those decisions.”
The trio missed OU’s game against LSU in the Peach Bowl, and if the perceived penalties turn out to be correct, they would miss the initial five games of the 2020 season.
Haselwood out
It’s not something you really expect during the quarantine period, but there is indeed a major injury when it comes to the Sooners. Riley confirmed sophomore wide receiver Jadon Haselwood will miss an extended period of time with a lower leg injury.
“He’ll miss some of the early part of the season and we’ll have to see how the rest of it, how he responds and how he comes back from that before we know anything further,” Riley said. “It’s not football related, non-workout related. Kind of a freak accident at home, basically.”
SoonerScoop.com can confirm it’s a torn ACL for Haselwood, which can put OU in a bind as it comes to the rehabilitation process.
There are guys in Norman still getting work done, in accordance with social distancing and rules of that nature. But then there are others, away from home, bringing something unique to the equation.
“Then we’ve got some of our guys that still need that physical therapist there, still need that medical personnel right there next to ‘em,” Riley said. “So if they’re at their homes, we’ve set them up to do that at various facilities across the country where we have contacts or where we’ve been able to visit with their people and get on the same page. That’s honestly been pretty smooth. Not that I would have known before but it’s probably been one of the smoothest, easiest parts of this deal.”
Riley could not comment on the tweet Thursday afternoon by former OU cornerback Starrland Baldwin that has since been deleted.
“This quarantine has really helped me get my body back right (100 emoji), proud of myself… I was at OU getting forced to practice on basically one leg smh… was nowhere near healthy, no proper rehab, PLEASE take care of your bodies, you know your body better than the trainers and coaches!”
Riley simply said he has all the confidence in the world in OU’s medical staff.
“I think 99.9 percent of the OU players in the past would echo that (confidence),” Riley said. “Anytime you have tough injuries like Starrland did, both coming in and when he was here, that can be a very frustrating thing. I understand his competitiveness and frustration and hated he couldn’t get on the right side of it, but he had great care here at Oklahoma.”
OU’s financial hit?
It’s something that simply cannot be answered right now, but Riley essentially reiterated what Castiglione had said a couple of weeks ago about the financial impact this will have on the program and university.
As more and more programs shut down their doors at various universities, it becomes a more realistic ordeal OU might have to face.
To what degree is still the unknown.
“It looks likely that there's going to be some type of impact,” Riley said. “Any time there is, we all have to be ready to adjust. I think, like with everything, you try to be efficient with your money, which we are. I know there's a perception out there - and I have to be honest, I was one of those before I got to a place like OU - that schools like OU and athletic departments, they get whatever they want, they spend money recklessly. Money is not an issue. That's not the case.
“The dollars that we have available for us, we are thankful for. Every dollar that we spend in our football department is accounted for. We try to spend it really thinking it through and that it's something that will really make a difference in our program. We respect where it came from and if we have to make it work with a smaller (portion) than we'll find a way.”
Virtual visit era
In-person recruiting was pushed back through at least June 30 in an NCAA ruling Wednesday, but it hasn’t really hurt the Sooners because of what OU has been able to do with virtual visits.
The OU staff took its time in figuring out how to present the information virtually to recruits, but now that it’s out there, it’s obvious the Sooners are striking the right chords.
Riley wouldn’t give out any in-depth details for competitive reasons, but it’s obvious the staff is focusing on what it can do instead of lamenting about what it cannot do during this period.
“It's been fun to connect that way and we've got a really good creative staff,” Riley said. “Kinda like I mentioned earlier, we've tried not to look at what can we not do, we've tried to embrace what we can do. I would put that under that category.
“That's what the rules are right now and I know they extended it through June 30. I think we all believe that there's a virtual certainty it's gonna be extended beyond that and so it's just what we have to get used to right now.”
OU has already landed one commitment following a virtual visit, and the Sooners are poised to strike gold throughout this weekend as the Sooners look like they’re ready to make their #LincUp21 push after biding their time the last month.
